I picked up a fairly new wine cooler that a guy give me because it stopped working. I watched several YouTube videos on how to gut it and turn it into an incubator. So when I get to the point where I can start buying more snakes and breeding them I will have it all ready to go. It will be a while before I get to that point. There is still a lot I have to learn and research first. Getting advice from all the people on here will help along the way. You just have to decide which way you want to go and how to build your incubator.
Good luck in your project.
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Seems like this should be standard knowledge, but if using a cooler, fridge or whatever. Though you shouldnāt do this outside either. Do Not cut the condenser to the coils inside your house. And wherever you do it always a good idea to where eye protection and a mask graded for gasses. Fridgerant is neither fun in your eyes or lungs. Can cause all sorts of problems. Only say this because some people may not realize that even though an electric cooler may not work. The gas inside the coils and condenser are unaware that it is quitting time!
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I am aware of the gas in the condenser. I will get a friend of mine to get the gas out first before I start cutting anything. Thanks for the information though.
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It is hard to screw my setup up LOL
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So Iāve been working on a cooler build for an incubator, and Iāve decided to go with the Herpstat Intro+. Iām looking into buying heat tape, and Iāll need 6" heat tape. The only problem Iām having is, Iām not finding much available right now? Pre-wired or not, if anyone could point me in the right direction for some, thatād be much appreciated.
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Something I always consider when setting up an incubator for birds or reptiles is the temperature delta itās going to have. If youāre keeping it in a 72* room with air conditioning, or an unheated home in the winter, it needs to be able to produce and distribute heat rapidly to avoid temp swings. If youāre keeping it in an 80*+ reptile room itās good for it to have the ability to disperse heat or it may be prone to overheating.
@t_h_wyman I love the method youāre using. It would be hard to create a more stable heat source for this application. I would imagine the abundance of humidity helps it stabilize the air temperature faster after opening the lid too. How many egg boxes can you fit in yours?
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I had trouble finding heat tape when I made my incubators, I just ended up waiting and it was eventually in stock. I usually check reptile basics and pangea. Iād recommend signing up to get notifications when theyāre back in stock since they sell out quickly.
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Alright, yeah, I did the same with both. Iāll just have to wait it out with an eye open while I work on the rest.
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We built our incubator from a large polystyrene cool box. We had to wait it out for heat tape, ended up getting heat mats instead.
I was scared of having electronics and water, so instead of filling the bottom with water, we put bottles and tubs of water, even some at the top too as we didnāt fill the space this year (first year of using it) but the temperature and humidity has been consistent.
Itās not as pretty looking as a ready built incubator or even a broken down wine cooler but it was easy to make and cheap too.
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You can also use heat rope it works as well. I have used it in the past with zero issues and itās readily a available.
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I can fit nine of the boxes that I use, but they are a non-standard type
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Which boxes do you use? Getting away from the 6qts as my females get older and consistently lay larger clutches Iām having to split them up and waste a lot of space. After chewing on it for a while Iāve decided to build a new unit with the system youāre using. It seems it would eliminate a lot of the tail chasing of conventional convective heat.
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Not going to be good for larger clutches unless you want to keep splitting the eggs apart. These will easily fit a dozen eggs as a single layer, I have always been lucky enough to catch the eggs fresh enough that they are not stuck together
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Those would be much better than ones Iām using height wise. Love the name too lol.
Yeah, that was fortuitous LOL
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Heat cable was an excellent recommendation, I donāt think I could have done this nearly as well with heat tape. Thank you. So far, Iāve only built one incubator (Iām doing both sides but am still waiting on some equipment) out of what used to be a dual sided wine/beverage cooler, utilizing the existing lights, thermometer and fans, and using the same insulated passages for the heat cable the cooling system originally used, I was able to panel the floor and the back using a 14.5ā/4.5m heat cable. I was able to achieve target temperature within ten minutes of setting the thermostat up and powering on the heating element, and after itās first 24 hour test, so far, I havenāt had a temperature variance outside .20Ā°F. It looks like itās holding temperature well, my next question is, in incubator builds like this, what are some good options for creating and keeping humidity? Iāve seen what look like closed plastic 1 gallon/3.79L jugs of water on bottom shelves, is that all there is to it, or what am I missing?
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You only need to worry about the humidity inside the tub. 4 cups perlite or vermiculite and 1.5 cups of water no press and seal bullet proof!
And your welcome glad I could help!
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Super nice man! Excellent work!
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